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Browsing named entities in a specific section of The Photographic History of The Civil War: in ten volumes, Thousands of Scenes Photographed 1861-65, with Text by many Special Authorities, Volume 5: Forts and Artillery. (ed. Francis Trevelyan Miller). Search the whole document.

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March 3rd, 1863 AD (search for this): chapter 12
eived late on the afternoon of the 31st of May. The river was rising rapidly, and the night was extremely dark. The men who made maps — topographical engineers before Yorktown This photograph of May, 1862, affords the last chance to see the Topographical Engineers at work as a distinct organization. At the time this view was taken they still existed as a separate branch, their duties were the compilation of maps and other topographical data for the use of the army; but by act of March 3, 1863, the Corps of Topographical Engineers was abolished and merged into the Corps of Engineers. Time and again on the field of battle the exact knowledge of locality decided the result. Great advantage lay with the officers who had the most reliable and detailed maps. None such existed of the theater of war in Virginia, and on this corps fell the duty of providing all topographical data necessary for the Army of the Potomac. The officers were all highly trained in engineering work, espec
July 13th, 1866 AD (search for this): chapter 12
he same act authorized the President to make promotions on account of merit whenever he deemed fit, so that the corps, as finally constituted, should not exceed one colonel, one lieutenant-colonel, two majors, four captains, four first lieutenants, and four second lieutenants. The act also provided that the corps, thus constituted, should form a military academy at West Point. The charge and superintendency of the Military Academy remained in the hands of the Corps of Engineers until July 13, 1866, when, by act of Congress of that date, control passed to the War Department at Washington, and the direct management of the academy to such officers as might be detailed by the President from any of the branches of the service. The Corps of Engineers was thus responsible for the instruction of the officers whose services were invaluable to both the Federal and Confederate armies during the memorable four years of the Civil War. When the war between the North and South began, there w
June 3rd (search for this): chapter 12
om its winter quarters on the north of the Rapidan, in the spring of 1864, for the last great campaign, there had been twelve hundred maps made and issued. After the start, and before the end of the siege of Petersburg, about sixteen hundred were issued from new surveys. In addition to the duties of surveying the country and making and distributing maps, the officers of the corps were charged with the work of selecting positions and directing their fortification. On the morning of the 3d of June, a gallant assault by the whole Union army was directed against Pontoon-bridges. Strips of water a few hundred feet wide often nullify the plans for entire armies. This page of pontoon-bridges gives some idea of the inestimable services of the Engineer Corps. In the upper photograph is one of the pontoon-bridges across the James, at Powhatan Point, near Harrison's Landing, which was used by part of General Grant's army in the march from Cold Harbor to Petersburg. Below to the
September 29th (search for this): chapter 12
roofed to insure its finishing the work. This view is to the east, showing a Union lookout-tower on the north bank of the James River, and some monitors in the right distance. The digging of the canal was begun on August 10, 1864, and was intended to enable Union monitors and gunboats to pass up the James to Richmond. The bend of the river which it cut off was filled with obstructions placed there by General Butler himself, and was commanded by the Confederate Battery Dantzler. After September 29th, when the Confederate Fort Harrison, north of the James, was captured by the Union troops, the canal was not needed, but work was continued until some four months afterwards it was ready. After the war it was a welcome channel for vessels on the James. January 1, 1865, when the bulkhead at the northern end of the excavation was blown up with twelve thousand pounds of powder, the fallen earth and debris obstructed the entrance. It could be entered by small boats, but it was never used
November 16th, 1864 AD (search for this): chapter 12
lle, Tennessee, likewise withstood terrific onslaughts, having been fortified with great skill. The army under Sherman had with it nine able engineers, under Captain O. M. Poe, who labored constantly in the construction of defenses for the numerous bridges along the line of railroad, fortified many strategic points, made surveys and issued maps, reconnoitered the positions of the Confederates, and managed the pontoon-bridge service. Sherman started from Atlanta for the sea-coast, November 16, 1864. Hood had moved north into Tennessee. The Union army under Thomas had been sent to Nashville. The engineers fortified Franklin, but Schofield, with two corps of Thomas' army, was not strong enough to hold it. At Nashville the skill of the engineers, under Captain (afterward General) Morton and Captain Merrill, had enabled General Thomas to take his stand and hold on until he was ready to move against Hood. A tripod for surveying the battlefield: map-making from pulpit rock, Look
July 9th, 1864 AD (search for this): chapter 12
e northern end of the excavation was blown up with twelve thousand pounds of powder, the fallen earth and debris obstructed the entrance. It could be entered by small boats, but it was never used for the passage of armed vessels. The size of the dredge-boat can be judged by the figures of the two men beside it. distance, and a great portion of the bridge could be built on trestles, whereas, in the James River construction, only about two hundred feet could be built of trestling. On July 9, 1864, an order was issued directing operations against Petersburg by regular siege-works. This required a survey of the topography of the country and the positions of the lines of both armies. A map was made by the engineers which was constantly used as a reference by all the officers concerned in laying out and constructing these works. The engineers planned the regular entrenchments and approaches as far as possible, but, because of the multiplicity of duties devolving upon them, much of
May 31st (search for this): chapter 12
nches and lines of communication, and in superintending and instructing details of soldiers who were unfamiliar with methods of modern warfare. At this period of the war (1862), the troops of the infantry and the cavalry had received no training in the construction of field-fortifications. Consequently, the duty fell heavily on this battalion of men who had received such instruction. Orders to construct a bridge across the Chickahominy River were received late on the afternoon of the 31st of May. The river was rising rapidly, and the night was extremely dark. The men who made maps — topographical engineers before Yorktown This photograph of May, 1862, affords the last chance to see the Topographical Engineers at work as a distinct organization. At the time this view was taken they still existed as a separate branch, their duties were the compilation of maps and other topographical data for the use of the army; but by act of March 3, 1863, the Corps of Topographical Engin
August 3rd, 1861 AD (search for this): chapter 12
etween the North and South began, there were two organizations of engineers, the Corps of Engineers and the Corps of Topographical Engineers. They were merged in 1863, and thenceforth existed as one organization. By the act of Congress of August 3, 1861, the Corps of Engineers was reorganized to consist of one colonel, two lieutenant-colonels, four majors, twelve captains, fifteen first lieutenants, fifteen second lieutenants, forty sergeants, forty corporals, eight musicians, two hundred an with troops were utilized on the staffs of the commanding generals. At the outbreak of the war, there were practically no engineer troops — only one small company, which had been organized during the Mexican War. By the act of Congress of August 3, 1861, already referred to, a battalion of four Blockhouses. This blockhouse was near Hunting Creek, close to the Orange & Alexandria Railroad, and covering the bridge over the creek on the Telegraph Road. The walls were built of large l
May 15th, 1864 AD (search for this): chapter 12
n the same manner as the sides. The boat was then allowed to soak in the water for a time. Each boat was twenty-one feet long, five feet wide, and two and a half feet deep. A canvas pontoon boat assembled ready for business--March, 1864 Canvas pontoon bridge, North Anna river The Bridge from upstream, Jericho mills Benham's wharf at Belle Plain: one month before his famous bridge across the James Belle Plain, Upper Wharf, erected by Engineer Corps, General Benham, Chief, May 15, 1864. So reads the inscription made by the photographer on his negative. The few words recall important events. At this time Grant was in the midst of his unsuccessful attempt to circumvent Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia at Spotsylvania. The work shown in this photograph was but child's play compared with the undertaking just one month later, when Grant finally decided to cross the James. One hour before noon on June 15th, General Benham received orders to prepare a pontoon-bridge
19th (search for this): chapter 12
or a moment, in order to make repairs. At length, the last animal was over by 7 P. M., on June 18th, and the guardians of the frail path commenced to breathe freely again, when, to their consternation, the Confederate artillery, about a mile away, began shelling. The pontoniers almost gave up hope of withdrawing the bridge in safety; but it was ordered up, and General Benham directed its removal in three rafts. This was successfully accomplished before three o'clock in the morning of the 19th, and the great bridge reached City Point, the Federal headquarters, about sunrise of that day, a souvenir of the most successful bridge of boats in the military history of the world. Compared with the bridge built by the same troops over the Chickahominy two years before, this James River bridge was the greater feat. In the latter case, the water was deep for the greater portion of the distance, in some places nearly eighty-five feet, with a strong current running. In the former, the str
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